Mike Morris - Team Leader
Michael Morris, MD is a 48 year-old family physician and has worked since 1984 in a private clinic in Willmar, a town in rural Minnesota with 20,000 inhabitants. He is married and has three children. He is on the clinical teaching faculty of the University of Minnesota Medical School. He is a current member of the Board of Directors of Rice Memorial Hospital and has served as medical chief of staff. A member of Rotary for 18 years, Dr. Morris as served as club music leader and international service officer, and now serves on the district youth exchange committee as the country exchange officer for Norway and Sweden. His family has hosted five exchange students through the years, and both of his sons have been exchange students to Norway (Paul - Drammen 1998, Mark - Arendal, 2001). Dr. Morris has maintained an avid interest in Norway and Norwegian language and culture since studying at the University in Oslo in 1977 and working as a temporary physician in Levanger in 1996.

Alanna Simone Tyler
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Originally from Chicago, Illinois, Alanna Simone Tyler, 34, currently lives and works in the heart of Minneapolis (www.minneapolis.org/pages/visitors/visitors.asp). For the past five years, Alanna has been employed with Hennepin County (www.co.Hennepin.mn.us/). Currently, she serves as the Principal Administrative Assistant to the Deputy County Administrator. In this role, she supports the second highest-ranking administrator on significant countywide projects including strategic planning and performance measurement. Alanna derives great enjoyment from hosting friends and family at her 95-year-old home located in an inner-city community experiencing revitalization. She takes advantage of the many art and theater outlets in the Twin Cities, and has a renewed passion for quilting and painting. With friends, she is part of a gourmet-cooking club. Alanna received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Grinnell College in Grinnell, Iowa (www.grinnell.edu ). She is looking forward to meeting Norwegian Rotarians and learning more about their customs and institutions.

Margit Karkela
Savage, Minnesota

A life long resident of Minnesota, Margit Karkela, 29, was born and raised in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, (www.grandmn.com ) and has spent the last eight years in Minneapolis. She's part Norwegian: her great-grandparents Ener E. and O'Lena (Olsen) Skoe immigrated to Northern Minnesota from Bø in Telemark and the Hedmark region of Norway. In her professional life, Margit has spent the past five years as an agent and registered representative for New York Life Insurance Company (www.newyorklife.com). She works with her clients to build long term strategies to help them achieve their financial goals and dreams. She enjoys the challenge of running her own office and has been awarded numerous awards including New Associate Of The Year. Margit is an active member of the Twin Cities Rotaract Club (www.tcrotaract.org). She's served as the Fundraising and Finance Chair, President, and is currently the District 5960 District Rotaract Representative. An active club, Twin Cities Rotaract was recently awarded the "Outstanding Service Award" at the 2002 Rotary International Conference in Barcelona, Spain, for its Central American Computer Project. Margit enjoys the projects and personal development that Twin Cities Rotaract offers to young professionals in her area as well as the strong friendships that have developed among the members. Margit is a graduate of the University of St. Thomas (www.stthomas.edu ) in St. Paul, Minnesota. In her free time, she enjoys traveling, spending time at the lake, reading, ice-skating, golf, and spending time with her friends and family.

John Hobday
Edina Minnesota,

John is a 38-year-old small business owner from Edina, Minnesota, a city of 46,000 people 15 km from downtown Minneapolis. His business, HealthCare Interactive, partners with the University of Minnesota, the Alzheimer's Association, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the National Institutes of Health to create health-related Websites for family caregivers, nursing home staff, and medical professionals in the areas of Alzheimer's and end-of-life care. Mr. Hobday has two children (Andy-10, and Amy-7) who are enrolled in a French-immersion elementary school in which 100% of instruction is conducted in French. He was a Rotary exchange student to Oaxaca, Mexico in 1983-1984 and is on the board of an international non-profit organization called Fill a Mind & Heart, which provides food, education, and hope to children in Ethiopia, Africa. His interests include skiing, snowboarding, waterskiing, running, international travel, and music.

Lynn Keillor
Minneapolis, Minnesota

Lynn Keillor, 31, has spent the last six years writing and editing for snowmobile-related publications: Snow Goer, Snowmobile, Snow Week and Powersports Business (http://www.snowmobilenews.com/). She has a degree in journalism from the University of Minnesota. Lynn is a lifetime resident of the Minneapolis, Minnesota, area and currently resides in Minneapolis. In 1989-90, she was hosted by the Skaugum Rotary Club in Asker, Norway, as part of Rotary Youth Exchange. Lynn especially enjoys outdoor activities, including snowmobiling, hiking, biking and camping. If she's indoors, she's likely cooking, knitting, doing a remodeling project or playing badminton.